$550,000 Homes in Connecticut, Minnesota and New York

Essex, Conn.

WHAT A shingled home with three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a detached barn with finished living space

HOW MUCH $549,000

SIZE 1,810 square feet

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT $303

SETTING The house is in the historic riverfront town of Essex, in south-central Connecticut, a mile northwest of Essex Village with its quaint main street. It is walking distance from the Griswold Inn, a hotel and restaurant that began doing business in 1776.

INDOORS With portions dating to the 1800s, the house centers on a great room with a vaulted ceiling and a wood-burning fireplace. French doors open to a covered deck and a garden surrounded by stone walls and a white picket fence. Directly off the great room are a den with hardwood floors and an eat-in kitchen that was remodeled within the last year, with stainless-steel appliances and marble floors and countertops.

The main level contains two bedrooms and one and a half new bathrooms with marble floors. Upstairs is a master-bedroom suite with a full marble-floored, renovated bathroom and a laundry room.

OUTDOOR SPACE The 1.6-acre property includes a detached barn with three finished, heated rooms and space for parking a large vehicle. There is also a pond, as well as a small potting shed, and a two-car garage at the base of the main house.

Minneapolis

WHAT A townhome built in 1953 with three bedrooms and two bathrooms

HOW MUCH $525,000

SIZE 1,777 square feet

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT $295

SETTING The home is in the Cedar Isles-Dean neighborhood southwest of downtown Minneapolis. It is less than a block from the Lake of the Isles recreational area, with access to bike paths, ice skating and summer water sports. Small shops, restaurants and art galleries are within walking distance.

INDOORS The owners thoroughly remodeled the kitchen and opened up the stairway from the main floor to the lower level, introducing more light. They retained much of the home’s original woodwork.

The main floor has an open plan, with the living area, dining area and kitchen contained within a single light-filled space. The kitchen has a breakfast bar with seating for three. A glass door leads to a narrow backyard deck. Additional cabinets and a bar are on the opposite side of the room, near the dining area.

This level includes two bedrooms and a glass- and ceramic-tiled bathroom with glass-block windows, a mirrored vanity and a heated towel rack. The smaller bedroom has a Murphy bed, easily combining the functions of office and guest quarters.

Downstairs, at the basement level, is a large family room with a wood-burning fieldstone fireplace, a bedroom and a bathroom with a shower. There is also a laundry room.

Hudson, N.Y.

WHAT A house built in 1900 with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms

HOW MUCH $565,000

SIZE 1,680 square feet

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT $336

SETTING The property is on Worth Avenue, at the top of Warren Street, Hudson’s main commercial thoroughfare, near the farm-to-table restaurants, craft shops, antiques stores and boutique hotels that have turned this Columbia County town into a popular attraction.

INDOORS The owner, an interior designer who bought the home in 2013, restored the original wide-board white pine floors, added a sunroom to the main level and planted arbor vitae trees in the backyard for privacy.

A steep flight of exterior steps takes you to the front porch and glazed and paneled double front door. The living room is to the left of the entrance; the side-by-side dining room and library/guest room are straight ahead, along with a full bathroom. Beyond that is a kitchen, with KitchenAid Architect Series appliances and marble countertops. At the back is the concrete-floored sunroom with French doors to an outdoor patio.

The original period staircase ascends to a master bedroom with Catskill Mountain views. The en-suite bathroom has a modern porcelain sink and a bathtub and shower tiled in slate. There is an additional bedroom on this floor with a half-bathroom and a Juliet balcony.

OUTDOOR SPACE The .09-acre property includes the original carriage house, which can be converted into a studio, home office or guest quarters. The building has space for parking one car; there is room at the back of the property for two more vehicles.